Children Missing Education

Oldham Local Education Authority (LEA) is concerned about any child or young person who is missing from education, as it may not only be their educational attainment that is at risk, but also potentially their safety and welfare.

Who are Children Missing Education (CME)?

Children of compulsory school age who are:

• not on a school roll;
• not being educated other than at school e.g. privately or in alternative provision; and
• identified as having been out of any educational provision for a substantial period of time (usually agreed as four weeks or more).

Why do children go missing from education?

There are a number of ways in which a child can fall out of educational provision and hence become missing. These include if a child:

• fails to start appropriate provision and hence never enters the system;
• ceases to attend, due to exclusion (e.g. illegal unofficial exclusions) or withdrawal; or
• fails to complete a transition between providers (e.g. being unable to find a suitable school place after moving to a new LEA).

There are also a number of other more serious circumstances by which a child could go also missing from education, and as a result all children and young people who go missing from education in Oldham are deemed to be at risk. A child missing education could be a missing child.

Identifying Children Missing Education

To limit the opportunity of children and young people becoming lost to the education system, Oldham LEA has established a Pupil Tracking Team in order to:

• locate, monitor and track all school aged children who are not on a school roll;
• act as a link with other statutory bodies and universal services to ensure that all children missing education are promptly identified and re-engaged with educational provision;
• implement a range of systematic processes and procedures to track potentially vulnerable children who leave the borough with an unknown destination.

How can you help?

Statutory and voluntary agencies in Oldham, as well as members of the public, are asked to complete one of the following notification forms should they become aware of the arrival or existence of a child living in Oldham but not in education. This will help to ensure that vulnerable children and young people in Oldham do not ‘slip through the net’:

• On-line CME notification form (to be added shortly)
• Downloadable CME notification form

The Pupil Tracking Team can also be notified by:

Post: Pupil Tracking Team, Pupil Service, Level 6, Civic Centre, West Street. OL1 1XJ
Tel: 0161 770 5179
Fax: 0161 770 4277
Email: cme@oldham.gov.uk

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Oldham Council, Civic Centre, West Street, Oldham, OL1 1UT.
Telephone 0161 770 3000